Vice Media CEO Bruce Dixon, on Thursday announced his plans to layoff hundreds on the company’s employees and stop publishing entirely on the Vice.com website.
The company went bankrupt last year and was sold to a Fortress Investment Group led consortium for $350million. The company is now considering selling its Refinery 29 publishing business as well.
Refinery 29 will continue to operate as a diversified digital publishing business that will create engaging, social media content, Dixon said.
This decision is a result of the ingoing financial challenges in the media industry. Sites like Messenger, BuzzFeed News, and Jezebel have ceased operations. Traditional media outlets like Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal on the other hand have experienced layoffs.
Dixon stated that the current news distribution model is not cost effective anymore. Thus, Vice now plans to focus on social channels and look out for other viable content distribution methods.
Vice will be transitioning to a studio model, following the cancellation of its “Vice News Tonight” TV program and other layoffs before Vice filed for bankruptcy.
“With this strategic shift (transition to studio model) comes the need to realign our resources and streamline our overall operations at Vice. Regrettably, this means that we will be reducing our workforce, eliminating several hundred positions. This decision was not made lightly, and I understand the significant impact it will have on those affected. Employees who will be affected will notified about the next steps early next week, consistent with local laws and practices,” Dixon said in a message to his staff.
“Moving forward, we will look to partner with established media companies to distribute our digital content, including news, on their global platforms, as we fully transition to a studio model. As part of this shift, we will no longer publish content on vice.com, instead putting more emphasis on our social channels as we accelerate our discussions with partners to take our content to where it will be viewed most broadly,” Dixon added.